In re Estate of Jagodowski
2017 IL App (2d) 160723
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2017Background
- Decedent Christopher Jagodowski died intestate in January 2016; Joanna Ungstad was born during Christopher’s marriage to Ilona in 1984 and was a presumed child; Christopher paid child support while Joanna was a minor.
- After Christopher’s death, samples were preserved for possible DNA testing; Joanna petitioned for letters of administration; Boguslaw Malara (a cousin) successfully obtained appointment as supervised administrator after Joanna’s petition was dismissed on residency grounds.
- As administrator, Boguslaw filed a motion to establish heirship asserting Joanna was not Christopher’s biological daughter and requesting DNA testing; Joanna argued Boguslaw lacked standing and any parentage challenge was time-barred under the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015.
- Trial court denied Boguslaw’s motion, stating denial was based on both lack of standing and statute-of-limitations grounds, and certified two Rule 308 questions to the appellate court: (1) whether Parentage Act limitations apply in probate heirship proceedings, and (2) whether an estate administrator has standing to adjudicate the nonexistence of a parent-child relationship.
- The appellate court reviewed statutory scheme and precedent, answering the first question in the affirmative and declining to definitively answer the second, reversing and remanding for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.
Issues
| Issue | Petitioner (Boguslaw) Argument | Respondent (Joanna) Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do the Parentage Act’s limitations periods apply to parentage challenges in probate heirship proceedings? | Parentage Act limitations should not govern probate heirship disputes; Probate Act (and its timing rules) should control; Parentage Act is aimed at child-support/support-enforcement contexts and would absurdly fix heirship before decedent’s death. | The Parentage Act governs parentage determinations; Poole treated parentage under the Parentage Act for probate issues; the Act’s limits (including §205) apply where parentage is at issue in probate. | Yes. The Parentage Act’s limitations on declaring the nonexistence of a parent-child relationship apply when parentage is challenged in a probate heirship proceeding. |
| Does a court-appointed administrator (not the child, parent, or presumed parent) have standing to petition to adjudicate the nonexistence of a parent-child relationship (including via DNA testing)? | As estate administrator with duty to determine heirs and assets, he has standing to challenge parentage and obtain DNA testing to ascertain heirship. | Standing to attack a presumption of parentage is limited by the Parentage Act (e.g., §205 and §602); only certain persons may initiate such a challenge unless a representative stands in the shoes of a deceased person under §602(j). | Not answered generally. The court declined to answer the certified question because standing depends on factual findings under the Parentage Act (notably whether §608(b) conditions are met). An administrator may act under §602(j) only if the deceased presumed parent could have pursued the claim (and if §608(b) prerequisites are satisfied). |
Key Cases Cited
- In re Estate of Poole, 207 Ill. 2d 393 (2003) (Illinois Supreme Court looked to the Parentage Act to resolve parentage issues arising in probate and remanded for parentage adjudication)
- In re Estate of Jotham, 722 N.W.2d 447 (Minn. 2006) (Minnesota Supreme Court held Parentage Act limitations apply in probate when party benefits from a statutory paternity presumption)
- In re Estate of Murray, 344 P.3d 419 (Nev. 2015) (Nevada Supreme Court applied state Parentage Act to probate parentage dispute and held challengers were time-barred)
- Wingate v. Estate of Ryan, 693 A.2d 457 (N.J. 1997) (New Jersey Supreme Court held Parentage Act limitations did not govern probate heirship claims under that State’s statutory framework)
- In re Nocita, 914 S.W.2d 358 (Mo. 1996) (Missouri en banc court allowed probate-specific probate-code timing to control paternity-for-inheritance dispute)
- Lewis v. Schneider, 890 P.2d 148 (Colo. App. 1994) (Colorado appellate court applied more specific probate provision rather than general Parentage Act in inheritance paternity matter)